This invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for facilitated assembly of disk drive units of the general type used in microcomputers, such as personal computers and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to an assembly station adapted for relatively rapid precision assembly of disk drive units.
In recent years, microcomputer equipment particularly such as personal and desktop computers have become extremely popular for a wide variety of business and educational and other uses. Such computers commonly include a main central processor unit having one or more memory storage disks for storage of data. In one popular form, the storage disk or disks are provided as part of a Winchester-type disk drive unit having multiple storage disks supported in a stack on a rotary spindle within a substantially sealed disk drive housing. The stacked disks are rotatably driven in unison by a small spindle motor, and one or more electromagnetic heads are displaced by a head actuator assembly to traverse disk surfaces for purposes of reading and writing data. Such Winchester-type disk drive units, sometimes referred to as "hard" disks, are generally preferred in comparison to so-called floppy disk drives due to their higher memory storage capacities and faster operating speeds.
The expanding popularity of personal and desktop computers has been accompanied by a demand for Winchester-type disk drive units having increased memory storage capacities with rapid read/write performance characteristics. Moreover, a significant market demand has arisen for smaller disk drive units possessing increased memory storage capacities. As a result, modern disk drive units have become increasingly complex and commonly include multiple storage disks in combination with multiple read/write heads which are mounted within a highly compact disk drive housing. To achieve the desired performance characteristics, such disk drive units have unfortunately required extreme precision during assembly stages during which individual disk drive components or subassemblies are typically installed one at a time into an open housing member or base. In the past, such precision component assembly has been obtained through the use of substantial manual labor in a manner requiring a high degree of skill and care, thereby inherently limiting production efficiency. Moreover, manual assembly of disk drive components can be a particularly difficult and tedious process, such as the assembly of a multiple disk stack into precision registry with multiple read/write heads of a head actuator assembly.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for improved devices and methods for assembling computer disk drive units and the like, particularly with respect to precision assembly of stacked memory storage disks into registration with a plurality of read/write heads. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.